Volusia County school chief sues head of teacher union

By Pat Hatfield
BEACON STAFF WRITER

posted Jul 30, 2008 - 3:45:44pm

As August approached, the heat was on between Volusia County Schools and the teacher's union.

Now, tensions between Volusia County Superintendent of Schools Margaret Smith and Volusia Teachers Organization President Andrew Spar have reached a boiling point.

Smith filed a personal lawsuit against Spar July 25, accusing him of making "false and defamatory" statements about her. The suit asks for an unspecified amount of damages, more than $15,000.

The teachers and school officials have been on the same side, at times, protesting decisions handed down by the State Board of Education, and at odds on other issues, such as teacher pay.

This summer, they parted ways over budget and layoffs. By the time it was announced in June that 220 teachers would not be rehired for the 2008-09 school year, due to budget cuts and declining enrollments, battle lines were drawn.

July 29, Smith told The Beacon she didn't sue Spar in her capacity as superintendent of schools.

"This is personal," she said. "It's not something I take lightly."

The major bone of contention is cuts in personnel. Spar accuses school district officials of cutting more teacher positions than necessary, and of not following the teachers' contract.

"There's information that doesn't seem to be adding up," he told The Beacon July 28. Cuts in administrative personnel, such as principals, vice principals and above, aren't as deep as they are in instructional staff, Spar said.

Volusia Teacher Organization handouts called the school district's math "fuzzy" in computing savings from these layoffs. Spar asked if the "fuzzy" math was "an attempt to cover up poor management of the district over the last couple of years."

Smith's complaint states "Spar has acknowledged privately that the District was overstaffed with teachers last year, yet has accused Smith of incompetence for having reduced the teacher workforce and conspiring to create very large reserves to the detriment of Volusia County teachers."

The complaint goes on to say members of Spar's inner circle "are rabid in their approach to the resolution of District issues," and accused the group and Spar of engaging in "horrific" union tactics.

"The lawsuit is frivolous, and it's certainly not going to help Volusia County Schools," Spar said. "It's a new low for Volusia County Schools."

School administration officials should provide complete and accurate information for an honest conversation, he said. Spar plans to continue to say what he needs to say.

"We're still going to process our grievances. We'll let the attorneys handle the lawsuits," he said.

Attorneys Ron Meyer and Mary Aspros of the Tallahassee law firm Meyer and Brooks PA will represent Spar. Spar told The Beacon July 30 the attorneys were hired by the teacher's union, and had just received the case.

Though Smith filed the suit personally, Spar said, he is being sued in his capacity as president of the teachers' union, so the union will defend him.

Smith hired Ted Doran, the School Board attorney, as her personal attorney. The superintendent said she didn't think Doran was giving her a discount on his legal fees.

"I doubt that," she said.

— pat@beacononlinenews.com

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